House Bill 203 would eliminate an Ohio law that requires
someone to retreat before using deadly force in self-defense. Democrats
and gun safety advocates have said such language is similar to a Florida law
that gained notoriety after teenager Trayvon Martin was shot in a suburban
neighborhood.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Terry Johnson, a McDermott
Republican, said Ohio law would not be the same as Florida's and would maintain several self-defense conditions he
said are among the tightest in the nation.

"Whether this bill passes or not, if you use lethal force outside your home, you will have to prove in a court of law you acted in self-defense," Johnson said in a floor speech. "That burden of proof will be on the defendant, not the prosecutor."

Rep. John Barnes, a Cleveland Democrat, said the provision needlessly expands rights beyond the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

"It's wrong for us to expand an opportunity beyond what is needed," Barnes said.

The bill proposes many changes that would make obtaining a
concealed carry handgun license easier for most and harder for some.

The bill also would:

reduce the number of training hours
required to obtain a concealed handgun license from 12 hours to four hours;

exempt members of the military, Peace
Corps, AmeriCorps or U.S. Foreign Service from having to renew a handgun
license while on active duty and for six months after;

allow Ohio to form reciprocity
agreements to accept another state's concealed carry permit even if the state
does not have criteria similar to Ohio's;

requires a court to rule in the favor
of an entity challenging a local gun ordinance if the ordinance is voluntarily repealed
and award $100 for each day the ordinance is enforced after repeal; and

prohibit the following individuals
from obtaining concealed carry permits: persons dishonorably discharged from
the military, applicants whose licenses have been suspended in other states,
applicants under a protection order issued by a court in another state.

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